Far Bright Star

Set in 1916, Far Bright Star follows Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman, as he leads an expedition of inexperienced soldiers into the mountains of Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa and bring him to justice. Though he is seasoned at such missions, things go terribly wrong and the patrol is brutally attacked. After witnessing the demise of his troops, Napoleon is left by hiSet in 1916, Far Bright Star follows Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman, as he leads an expedition of inexperienced soldiers into the mountains of Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa and bring him to justice. Though he is seasoned at such missions, things go terribly wrong and the patrol is brutally attacked. After witnessing the demise of his troops, Napoleon is left by his captors to die in the desert.

Through him we enter the conflicted mind of a warrior as he tries to survive against all odds, as he seeks to make sense of a lifetime of senseless wars and to reckon with the reasons a man would choose a life on the battlefield. Olmstead, an award-winning writer, uses his precise, descriptive prose to explore the endurance and fate of the last horse soldiers. The result is a tightly wound novel that is as moving as it is terrifying....more

Community Reviews

If, years from now, there were a recognized school of Cormac McCarthy influenced writers, there is little doubt – to my mind at least --that Robert Olmstead would be pointed out as the leading practitioner. Olmstead knows the drill – guns, extreme violence, campfire philosophy, gorgeous (and stark) landscapes, realistic dialogue, all of which are captured in a dark poetry of language that seems to jump the whole deal into a kind of an American myth. A perfect example is Olmstead’s earlier CivilIf, years from now, there were a recognized school of Cormac McCarthy influenced writers, there is little doubt – to my mind at least --that Robert Olmstead would be pointed out as the leading practitioner. Olmstead knows the drill – guns, extreme violence, campfire philosophy, gorgeous (and stark) landscapes, realistic dialogue, all of which are captured in a dark poetry of language that seems to jump the whole deal into a kind of an American myth. A perfect example is Olmstead’s earlier Civil War novel, Coal Black Horse, which I’m starting to believe will be viewed on a level with McCarthy’s great novels.

Far Bright Star, while good, is something less. Normally I favor brevity over length when it comes to novels, but in this case, I think Far Bright Star could of benefitted from an extra 50 to 100 pages. The novel opens in a wobbly way, as the reader is dropped into the middle of a patrol (largely comprised of fools) pursuing Pancho Villa, led by an aging horse soldier, Napoleon Childs. Relationships and back stories are hinted at, which is fine, since such things can come out later. The problem is, in a 200 page novel, you’re kind of cramped for space. Anyway, Childs leads this patrol into a trap that he senses early on, but can’t quite put his finger on. This is one of the best parts of the novel, as the patrol knows they’re being followed, but evidence is scarce. When they are seen, in a beautifully executed passage, Napoleon knows it’s already too late.

He lifted the field glasses, and scanned the vast emptiness of the broken country. But he didn’t need to. The Rattler horse was vibrating with the news of their surroundings and who occupied them. Then he saw them. The distant riders had multiplied and placed themselves between him and the direction he intended. He caught sight of them as if miniature points on a compass of their world. They knotted the landscape in twos and threes. They were to the north and to the east and to the west and to the south a speck of a man holding a rifle stood over a thin trail they’d just descended and then a second man stepped from the rocks and stood beside him. They appeared and disappeared in the shimmering glaze of heat, as if ink drawn and washed away and drawn again. (p. 46-47)

That bit got my attention. What follows is a battle – a rather fantastic battle in a storm that seems more like Gettysburg than a fight between a few dozen men, and after that an ordeal to survive that involves beatings and torture and a long brutal walk in the sun. The meaning of life – and death, crosses Napoleon’s mind more than once, and the reader is treated to numerous musings which can be both profound and corny in the space of a single paragraph. That’s hardly a crime, and probably in keeping with most philosophical systems, but in a short novel it does tend to lard things up a bit. (Tolstoy sensed this, which is why he packaged his baloney in a thousand page book.) As the novel inched toward its closing, I was actually getting irritated with this stuff, but the closing, which was beautiful and profound, to some extent won me over. But I’m not sure the novel as a whole earned that moment. Lots of 5 star writing, but overall a book where the parts are greater than the whole.

Far Bright Star was an amazing journey. It's a beautifully crafted story of pain and loss, and the unknown road ahead. Human nature is defined and examined throughout Napolean's journey.

The style was different than most everything I've read but within a few pages it was apparent that it fit the world Robert Olmstead was creating extremely well. The prose overall was superb and realized a rich and detailed world of war that was captivating start to fI won this book through a First Reads giveaway.

Far Bright Star was an amazing journey. It's a beautifully crafted story of pain and loss, and the unknown road ahead. Human nature is defined and examined throughout Napolean's journey.

The style was different than most everything I've read but within a few pages it was apparent that it fit the world Robert Olmstead was creating extremely well. The prose overall was superb and realized a rich and detailed world of war that was captivating start to finish.

This is not a book I would typically read; initially I thought I had erroneously picked a western (oh horrors!), but I really enjoyed this book! I found myself wanting to write down passage after passage. It is a skilled author that makes me slow down and think. Robert Olmstead has down this.

Olmstead has the ability to imagine a world, a rich fully realized world, and to put it into words so that the reader walks in the very same landscape that the characters do, thinking their thoughts and suffering their pain. And Olmstead’s Far Bright Star is indeed filled with pain, inflicted trauma, violence and two very strong brothers linked by a lifetime of service in pointless wars and desolate lands. And thFar Bright Star by Robert Olmstead

$24.95, May 2009, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Olmstead has the ability to imagine a world, a rich fully realized world, and to put it into words so that the reader walks in the very same landscape that the characters do, thinking their thoughts and suffering their pain. And Olmstead’s Far Bright Star is indeed filled with pain, inflicted trauma, violence and two very strong brothers linked by a lifetime of service in pointless wars and desolate lands. And throughout their travels and travails there are horses, strong, winded, “blown”, skeletal, strong horses.

Coal Black Horse caught me from the very first page and had a more hard-driving motion and of course Robey was a great open-eyed hero. Far Bright Star took a little more patience to hook me only because it wasn't immediately clear who would be the focus of the story (so many men introduced in the first chapter), but the writing style is again excellent, pure Olmstead, and the story surely and forcefully drives home its theme (The end of war is the beginning of war).

This is great guy reading: the Mexican desert, rugged individuals, horses, soldiers and mercenaries and ultra-violence. Olmstead's terse but romantic writing style sets a perfect tone for the story. His description of the desert heat was amazing. If I described them to you, the characters would sound like caricatures, but they feel rich and alive when you're reading the book. Excellent!

QOTD"His was a dirty death, but in the end if was his own death and no one else's and it'd been waiting here foThis is great guy reading: the Mexican desert, rugged individuals, horses, soldiers and mercenaries and ultra-violence. Olmstead's terse but romantic writing style sets a perfect tone for the story. His description of the desert heat was amazing. If I described them to you, the characters would sound like caricatures, but they feel rich and alive when you're reading the book. Excellent!

QOTD"His was a dirty death, but in the end if was his own death and no one else's and it'd been waiting here for him all these years and now he'd walked into its chain and it'd taken him in it's embrace."- Robert Olmstead, "Far Bright Star"...more

I started this book thinking I would be reading about a group of men trying to bring in Pancho Villas, a little western action etc...

This is a gritty, sparse novel which revolves around one event really. Napolean is an aging veteran who guides a misfit crew of men out into the Mexican landscape to find Pancho Villas. What happens to Napolean and his men is horrific and violent. Olmstead does a great job describing human nature and the need to survive. He reminds me a bit of McCarthy - terse yetI started this book thinking I would be reading about a group of men trying to bring in Pancho Villas, a little western action etc...

This is a gritty, sparse novel which revolves around one event really. Napolean is an aging veteran who guides a misfit crew of men out into the Mexican landscape to find Pancho Villas. What happens to Napolean and his men is horrific and violent. Olmstead does a great job describing human nature and the need to survive. He reminds me a bit of McCarthy - terse yet beautifully written prose. The way he wrote about the open sky at night was breathtaking....more

This western is porn for readers who are into extreme violence; I assume the only people who give the book five stars are those who sit through endless Tarrantino movies and felt positively chipper after reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Really. The first part of the book describes, in hyper-realized detail, the gory deaths of all the men in the troop except the leader and the smart ass that fires the first shot. You can bet Olmstead has got something really special planned for them. Then, theThis western is porn for readers who are into extreme violence; I assume the only people who give the book five stars are those who sit through endless Tarrantino movies and felt positively chipper after reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Really. The first part of the book describes, in hyper-realized detail, the gory deaths of all the men in the troop except the leader and the smart ass that fires the first shot. You can bet Olmstead has got something really special planned for them. Then, there's the long torture sequences of the two men leading up to the Napoleon Childs's excruciating, hellish drag across the Mexican desert. Just to top it off, you have descriptions of Childs's long convelescence after his body is just basically one big blister. Some of the language is beautiful, but it seems put to poor service writing about such a ghastly adventure. The comparisons to McCarthy and Hemingway are sure to follow. My question is: How many books can a guy write like this? I wasn't sorry I read Coal Black Horse. I was glad this gorefest was only 200-odd pages long....more

This was almost a 5 star book for me. I feel like this story is told pretty succinctly, which I appreciate. I feel like this is maybe the best book I have read this year at creating something visual with language. The images of men glowing blue in the electricity of a thunderstorm, of a man resting small and forgotten in the sands of a long dead ocean, and of a patrol coming across and treating cavalierly a body blistered and stripped of skin upside-down and unrecognizable are all haunting and hThis was almost a 5 star book for me. I feel like this story is told pretty succinctly, which I appreciate. I feel like this is maybe the best book I have read this year at creating something visual with language. The images of men glowing blue in the electricity of a thunderstorm, of a man resting small and forgotten in the sands of a long dead ocean, and of a patrol coming across and treating cavalierly a body blistered and stripped of skin upside-down and unrecognizable are all haunting and hard to get out of your head.

The real problem comes in the second act where Napoleon wanders the desert alone for forever. Olmstead was great at dialogue. He was great at opening or closing a chapter with a brilliant landscape. He could not for the life of him write convincingly from the perspective of a man lost in the desert. It dragged on forever. The tone was all over the place. If you consolidate the 3+ chapters into one, I think I'd probably call this my favorite book this year to date. ...more

Far Bright Star is an exceptionally well-written and compelling story, and I almost gave it a 5-star rating. The only drawback for me is that it consists almost entirely of description, and my personal preference is (has always been) for more dialogue and less description. That said, author Robert Olmstead’s powers of description are truly unparalleled and captivating.

Far Bright Star follows a squad of US Cavalrymen hunting for Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1916. The book’s protagonist, squad leaderFar Bright Star is an exceptionally well-written and compelling story, and I almost gave it a 5-star rating. The only drawback for me is that it consists almost entirely of description, and my personal preference is (has always been) for more dialogue and less description. That said, author Robert Olmstead’s powers of description are truly unparalleled and captivating.

Far Bright Star follows a squad of US Cavalrymen hunting for Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1916. The book’s protagonist, squad leader Napoleon Childs, is an aging and experienced military man witnessing the end stage of the almost incomprehensible technological transition from the 19th century to the 20th. His perspective is both keen and poignant, and one of the book’s primary themes is that though technology advances, the humans using said technology don’t. For example, Napoleon makes the accurate and distressing observation that “after the war is before the war.” His assessments of the book’s other characters (his men, his enemies, and the horses used by both) are unsparing, true, and thought-provoking, and stimulated visceral responses in this reader.

There is a battle scene almost halfway through this short (207 page) book that is brutal and completely engrossing. There is later violence that is as stunning as I fear it is representative of reality. There is a dear and enviable bond between 2 brothers. There are powerful descriptions of landscape and atmosphere. There are at least 10 words that I’d never seen or heard before (I looked most of them up, and have already forgotten them). It’s a pretty stellar book, and highly recommended if you’re a fan of Cormac McCarthy or Larry McMurtry or the like. ...more

Bloody hell. A haunting, gruesome western in which you are drawn into this aging cavalry officer's world of death, death and horses, death and the barren earth, arrogant youth getting themselves killed - he is a man traumatised by atrocity and haunted by death. Stark, finely-honed writing, a beautifully corny drawl, some truly horrific passages, and a narrative that seems to reside between two worlds, twisting from reality to dream, from the living to the dead, and maybe back to the living..

After reading through an author's catalog, you sometimes feel disheartened, that you will struggle to find another writer with the same feel and flavor. I felt that way with Cormac McCarthy. Thank God I discovered Robert Olmstead. It isn't imitation, it stands on it's own. Olmstead is the real deal.

If you loved Blood Meridian...you WILL love this book. I say without reservation that Far Bright Star will definitely go on the short list of books that I will read over and over again.

The year is 1916 and US Army is in Mexico, in pursuit of Pancho Villa and his bandits. Napoleon Childs is a veteran cavalryman who has always lived his life in the present. One day, he leads a small band out on routine patrol, but they ride into a murderous trap. With haunting and lyrical prose (I know it’s cliché, but it’s true), Olmstead takes us into the mind of Napoleon as he searches for the significance of life and death, men and horses, war and nature.

"He knew there would be more war because he knew by law of nature men would to war. All the young men were on fire to cross the ocean and fight. Like little boys, they would have it and the old men would let them have it and it would turn out widows and orphans and heartbroken mothers. They would weep and moan for their husbands, fathers and lovers. After the war was before the war."

It turns out that I hate most of Ernest Hemingway's books, but before I ever read any of them, this is what I thought Hemingway would be like - terse, unforgiving, rich language that perfectly captures a moment in time. FBS takes place on the eve of WWI during the hunt for Pancho Villa, events that inform the plot without actually entering into the book all that much.

This was the most interesting literary novel I have read since "No Country for Old Men." Olmstead knows how to write fascinating characters, while his prose is simultaneously muscular and lyrical. All of this coupled with a good plot makes 'Far, Bright Star" impossible to put down.

This is a tough book to read, because the main character, Napoleon Childs, an aging calvaryman from the U.S. Army, leads a group of men in Mexico to hunt Pancho Villa and he's a difficult person to understand. Things go terribly wrong as his inexperienced troopers try to do battle in Mexico and most of his men are killed. He is treated horribly by his Mexican captors, which breaks his spirit and body. The difficulty in reading the book is because of the torture that he witnesses and endures himsThis is a tough book to read, because the main character, Napoleon Childs, an aging calvaryman from the U.S. Army, leads a group of men in Mexico to hunt Pancho Villa and he's a difficult person to understand. Things go terribly wrong as his inexperienced troopers try to do battle in Mexico and most of his men are killed. He is treated horribly by his Mexican captors, which breaks his spirit and body. The difficulty in reading the book is because of the torture that he witnesses and endures himself. The book's ending left me puzzled and unsatisfied with the story. ...more

Far Bright Star, a loosely linked sequel to Olmstead's Civil War/coming of age classic, Coal Black Horse, is every bit as engaging and beautifully written as its predecessor. At the conclusion of Coal Black Horse, the book's young protagonist, Robey Childs, marries and fathers two strapping sons: Napoleon and Xenophon. Far Bright Star reacquaints the reader with these two brothers, now aging adults, as they engage in a new military venture: they're members of a cavalry unit that has been sent inFar Bright Star, a loosely linked sequel to Olmstead's Civil War/coming of age classic, Coal Black Horse, is every bit as engaging and beautifully written as its predecessor. At the conclusion of Coal Black Horse, the book's young protagonist, Robey Childs, marries and fathers two strapping sons: Napoleon and Xenophon. Far Bright Star reacquaints the reader with these two brothers, now aging adults, as they engage in a new military venture: they're members of a cavalry unit that has been sent into the wilds of Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. Xenophon is a consummate horseman, but Napolean is the leader of the two, and as such he is ordered to muster a ragtag scouting party into the desert to assess Villa's whereabouts.

Never the naive optimist, Napolean has an unusually keen sense of foreboding about the mission. His thinly staffed posse can boast of only one other seasoned cavalryman; the rest of the party consists of drunkards, untried boys, misfits, and a spoiled dandy from the East whose character flaws pose a serious danger to the entire group. Even Napolean's horse, a devilish black behemoth named Rattler, seems apprehensive. Pancho Villa is nowhere to be found, but the group stumbles upon evil nonetheless, and a series of tragic mistakes in judgment culminate in a survival story that will have you gripping the book with white-knuckled hands.

Far Bright Star, like Coal Black Horse, has a mythic, larger than life quality that is enhanced by Olmstead's glorious use of language. Every other page of the book contains a passage that glows like a polished jewel. Olmstead's powerful prose, his consummate skill in portraying the varieties of human character that emerge when men are subjected to extreme circumstances, his ability to transport a reader's five senses into the physical landscape of the story, his willingness to confront the "big questions" -- all of these are compelling reasons to make Olmstead's recent novels part of your personal library.

I listened to this book on compact disc, and I think that Ed Sala's reading performance enhances the impact of the novel. His dry, "man's man" delivery may initially strike the listener as a bit too Cowboy Poetry-esque, but his succinct, no-nonsense tone (think Tommy Lee Jones or Robert Duvall) conveys the flavor of the book perfectly. I fell in love with Sala's true west cadence by the end of the novel.

One cautionary note: some of the events in this book are gruesome. If your stomach churned one too many times at the psychopathic atrocities committed by Blue Duck in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, this novel may not be for you. One suggestion: read the book, don't listen to it. That way, you can "skim" when the going gets graphic....more

Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead ** Fiction. It is 1916 and among the horse soldiers, the last of a dying breed in New Mexico tasked with hunting down Poncho Villa for his raids into that state, are brothers Napoleon and Xenophon, two tough as nails veterans; one a trainer of men and the other a trainer of horses. Napoleon is on a training mission with five others, including one Preston, a wealthy troublemaker out for adventure. They run into what can only be described as a private army bent oFar Bright Star by Robert Olmstead ** Fiction. It is 1916 and among the horse soldiers, the last of a dying breed in New Mexico tasked with hunting down Poncho Villa for his raids into that state, are brothers Napoleon and Xenophon, two tough as nails veterans; one a trainer of men and the other a trainer of horses. Napoleon is on a training mission with five others, including one Preston, a wealthy troublemaker out for adventure. They run into what can only be described as a private army bent on revenge. There is, during the battle, courage, blood, guts spilling, faces partially shot off, screams to create never ending nightmares, and this lovely scene is followed by some of the most harrowing torture killing in horse-opera literature. Despite all that fun and games, this is definitely not an action novel. Aside from the brief action just described, the book is all about the thoughts of Napoleon, but his thoughts, like his words, are terse and incomplete, leaving it to the reader to figure out just what is going on and what the book is really about. I confess to not understanding it, so despite an initial feeling that I was going to really like this book, I didn’t. ...more

This is the second in a planned trilogy about the effects of war on men of honor and courage. It is not a happy book. It's central character, Napoleon, is a twin. He and his brother are aging horsemen in the army that has carried American justice around the world. He refers to his presence in the Philippines, the Indian Wars, and other conflicts that the US has indulged in over his twenty year hitch. Now in 1916, poised on the coming of World War I and the obsolescence of his trade, he makes oneThis is the second in a planned trilogy about the effects of war on men of honor and courage. It is not a happy book. It's central character, Napoleon, is a twin. He and his brother are aging horsemen in the army that has carried American justice around the world. He refers to his presence in the Philippines, the Indian Wars, and other conflicts that the US has indulged in over his twenty year hitch. Now in 1916, poised on the coming of World War I and the obsolescence of his trade, he makes one more pointless foray after Pancho Villa in Mexico. The battle he is trapped into, the suffering he undergoes, and the courage he displays have nothing to do with anything in particular and certainly not with the capture and punishment of Villa. The book is short, harsh, and beautiful. Anyone who has loved Lonesome Dove should go out and acquire this trilogy. Olmstead is a good writer. Like James Lee Burke, he has a profound sense of bravery and endurance. This is a book about men, their love for each other, and their profound dissatisfaction with the behavior of those who are not faithful and courageous. This novel is must reading for those who want to understand male values and weaknesses....more

Some have said this is a "guy's book", a description so lacking it is almost comical. Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead is a short novel set in the southwest desert, and follows the disasterous mission of an expedition of cavalrymen to hunt down Pancho Villa. Napoleon, the leader, is a seasoned horse soldier, and nearing the end of his career. He leads his young and untested soldiers across a brutal landscape to a certain death. That they are unaware of the futility of this mission and NapoleonSome have said this is a "guy's book", a description so lacking it is almost comical. Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead is a short novel set in the southwest desert, and follows the disasterous mission of an expedition of cavalrymen to hunt down Pancho Villa. Napoleon, the leader, is a seasoned horse soldier, and nearing the end of his career. He leads his young and untested soldiers across a brutal landscape to a certain death. That they are unaware of the futility of this mission and Napoleon is so very aware gives the reader a glimpse into the tender side of war.

What happens to Napoleon sets in motion an hallucinatory fight for survival and an examination of his war career. He struggles to live, while recalling his boyhood and trying to make sense of the viciousness of the attack. Napoleon is aware that war is changing, and horse soldiers will fade from the landscape. Old and new warfare, cynical and idealistic soldiers, brutality and tenderness play against one another in this moving novel of war and redemption. ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.This book, though difficult to read at times due to the graphic nature of the contents, was well written and provoked many thoughts about the limits of what man can withstand - body and soul. I will admit that it got a little more confusing to read toward the latter half of the book, but I belive that was intentional. The main character started referring to himself in the third person as "he," which made understanding conversations a bit difficult at times and deciphering thoughts tough as well.This book, though difficult to read at times due to the graphic nature of the contents, was well written and provoked many thoughts about the limits of what man can withstand - body and soul. I will admit that it got a little more confusing to read toward the latter half of the book, but I belive that was intentional. The main character started referring to himself in the third person as "he," which made understanding conversations a bit difficult at times and deciphering thoughts tough as well. However, I do realize this was not without reason. It was said more than once that the narrator "died out there." I believe that the transition - I think it occurred sometime during his delirium of recovery - was a necessary one to mark the beginning of a new "life." The very end itself was also confusing, but I have my own conclusions, which I won't reveal until you have read it! I think I've revealed enough spoilers here.

In short, it was worth the read to understand some of what may go through the mind of those at war or in combat. ...more

Green Apple Books keeps their perfect record with great staff recommendations. I stepped into the bookstore a couple weeks ago and saw this book on their recommended shelf and took it home. I love westerns, and I particularly like the time and setting of this book (similar to my favorite movie "The Wild Bunch") where the characters are right on the cusp of history changing. The book is set in 1916 and the main characters are soldier/cowboys searching for Pancho Villa. So they are true cowboys, oGreen Apple Books keeps their perfect record with great staff recommendations. I stepped into the bookstore a couple weeks ago and saw this book on their recommended shelf and took it home. I love westerns, and I particularly like the time and setting of this book (similar to my favorite movie "The Wild Bunch") where the characters are right on the cusp of history changing. The book is set in 1916 and the main characters are soldier/cowboys searching for Pancho Villa. So they are true cowboys, on horseback, sleeping under the stars, tracking down bandits and carrying revolvers. At the same time, people have now begun driving cars, a plane helps them track Villa, and World War I has just begun. The characters are the last in a line of horse soldiers. The settings are vivid, the story is great, but stark, with all the violence in full display. It reminds me a bit in tone of "Blood Meridien" but it's simpler and more straightforward. If you've got no interest in westerns, it's probably not the right book, but if you've got any interest, this is a great book....more

It's an unbelievable stroke of luck to be living when both Robert Olmstead and Cormac McCarthy are writing. To get one writer of these sorts of minimal, violent, pretty books would be a pretty decent stroke of luck. So to have two is almost more luck than anyone really deserves.

What I love about this book is that it's a western, but it defies what I consider the traditional stereotypes of westerns. For the most part, I've read westerns that are long and literary, and westeA great, short western.

It's an unbelievable stroke of luck to be living when both Robert Olmstead and Cormac McCarthy are writing. To get one writer of these sorts of minimal, violent, pretty books would be a pretty decent stroke of luck. So to have two is almost more luck than anyone really deserves.

What I love about this book is that it's a western, but it defies what I consider the traditional stereotypes of westerns. For the most part, I've read westerns that are long and literary, and westerns that are short and trashy. But this one takes the literary, cuts it down to a manageable length, and the result is pretty damn good.

I sometimes wonder if authors of westerns feel that the length of the book, the expansiveness, helps encapsulate the expansiveness of the landscape and all of that. Olmstead take a different tack, and the shortness and brutality of the book matches well with the shortness and brutality of the characters' lives.

Just don't mistake this withholding for a lack of generosity on the part of the author and his storytelling. Everything that needs to be there is. Everything that doesn't is in a Longarm somewhere....more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.I won this book as a first read giveaway and it was only my sense of obligation to write a review that pushed me to continue reading it after the first 20 pages.

It was a very slow start that focused too much (for my taste) on describing the setting and not enough attention placed on character development. It was only by the time Napoleon and his troops realized they were going to be ambushed that I began to see where the story was going to go and wanted to continue turning the pages.

The horrifI won this book as a first read giveaway and it was only my sense of obligation to write a review that pushed me to continue reading it after the first 20 pages.

It was a very slow start that focused too much (for my taste) on describing the setting and not enough attention placed on character development. It was only by the time Napoleon and his troops realized they were going to be ambushed that I began to see where the story was going to go and wanted to continue turning the pages.

The horrific description of violence rivaled Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" and the exacting prose detailing such brutality made me sick to my stomach. I'm sure this reaction was what the author was going for. The only time the pacing of the story held my interest was while Napopleon witnessed the brutal death of his troops. I was left somewhat disapointed by his internal reflections while he was in the desert. His life as a cavalry soldier before the event and his journey back didn't captivate me. The only thing that humanized him was his connection to his brother throughout a lifetime of service in one war after another.

If you read for character development or story telling, (as I tend to gravitate towards) this book may not be for you. However, if you're captivated by detailed, gritty prose and enjoy attention to setting, this might be up your alley. ...more

Far Bright Star was a beautiful story hindered by Olmstead's steadily infuriating prose. I've never read anything that made me want to throw it against the wall with such force. Olmstead's writing is terse, taut and Cormac McCarthyesque yet simultaneously superfluous and overly affected. Throughout the novel Olmstead made myriad awkward and unsuitable word choices as if he were a college student writing an essay while mining a thesaurus. Wait, why are the stars of a bright Milky Way pallid? YouFar Bright Star was a beautiful story hindered by Olmstead's steadily infuriating prose. I've never read anything that made me want to throw it against the wall with such force. Olmstead's writing is terse, taut and Cormac McCarthyesque yet simultaneously superfluous and overly affected. Throughout the novel Olmstead made myriad awkward and unsuitable word choices as if he were a college student writing an essay while mining a thesaurus. Wait, why are the stars of a bright Milky Way pallid? You just spent three paragraphs telling me about the brightness of the night sky, the shining of the stars and now they're all of a sudden pallid? No. Or "Other men were now emboldened: the envious and resentful, the invidious". Fucking shoot me in the face..

Though all in all, despite being filled with writing I flat out hated, Olmstead will occasionally hit his mark- and with what visceral force and beauty! I felt the elegy of the horse soldiers. This book was worth it for that.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here."Far Bright Star" grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go until the journeys' end. It reminds me of those classic western movies like "The Magnificent Seven", Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns or “The Unforgiven”. The writing is stark and realistic. You can almost feel the hot sun bearing down and desert grit in your mouth. It is 1916 and a veteran of battles, Napoleon must lead a rag tag band of soldiers. “They are a sorry lot -- "freebooters, felons, Christians, drifters, patr"Far Bright Star" grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go until the journeys' end. It reminds me of those classic western movies like "The Magnificent Seven", Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns or “The Unforgiven”. The writing is stark and realistic. You can almost feel the hot sun bearing down and desert grit in your mouth. It is 1916 and a veteran of battles, Napoleon must lead a rag tag band of soldiers. “They are a sorry lot -- "freebooters, felons, Christians, drifters, patriots . . . surgeons, mechanics, assassins,” on a search for Pancho Villa. This odd cadre is ambushed by unknown guerillas on the border and there begins the battle that will leave the physically and emotionally battered warrior Napoleon wishing at times he were dead. What else can I say? Author Robert Olmstead has spun a really good story. Worth checking out!

"Far Bright Star" grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go until the journeys' end. It reminds me of those classic western movies like "The Magnificent Seven", Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns or “The Unforgiven”. The writing is stark and realistic. You can almost feel the hot sun bearing down and desert grit in your mouth. It is 1916 and a veteran of battles, Napoleon must lead a rag tag band of soldiers. “They are a sorry lot -- "freebooters, felons, Christians, drifters, patr"Far Bright Star" grabs you by the scruff of the neck and doesn't let go until the journeys' end. It reminds me of those classic western movies like "The Magnificent Seven", Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns or “The Unforgiven”. The writing is stark and realistic. You can almost feel the hot sun bearing down and desert grit in your mouth. It is 1916 and a veteran of battles, Napoleon must lead a rag tag band of soldiers. “They are a sorry lot -- "freebooters, felons, Christians, drifters, patriots . . . surgeons, mechanics, assassins,” on a search for Pancho Villa. This odd cadre is ambushed by unknown guerillas on the border and there begins the battle that will leave the physically and emotionally battered warrior Napoleon wishing at times he were dead. What else can I say? Author Robert Olmstead has spun a really good story. -Amy O....more

"Described by the Dallas Morning News as a ""thinking-reader's western,"" Olmstead's latest novel, which features some characters from Coal Black Horse, is not for the faint of heart. Still, critics were riveted by this gruesome, bloodcurdling, and thoroughly masculine book, where women are virtually nonexistent and war is a constant, prevailing theme. Critics hailed Far Bright Star as a tightly woven tale with terse, dispassionate prose, characteristics that may also be used to describe the lac"Described by the Dallas Morning News as a ""thinking-reader's western,"" Olmstead's latest novel, which features some characters from Coal Black Horse, is not for the faint of heart. Still, critics were riveted by this gruesome, bloodcurdling, and thoroughly masculine book, where women are virtually nonexistent and war is a constant, prevailing theme. Critics hailed Far Bright Star as a tightly woven tale with terse, dispassionate prose, characteristics that may also be used to describe the laconic Napoleon. Reviewers also compared Olmstead favorably to acclaimed novelist Cormac McCarthy (The Road). Only the Oregonian felt that the novel was ""over-written"" and ""congested"" in parts. But overall, Far Bright Star is a masterful, mesmerizing portrait of one man facing oblivion."...more

Incredible descriptions of the desert and the men in the detachment of the US Cavalry as they are hunted down by a group of Mexicans seeking revenge for the treatment of a girl by one of the troopers and the subsequent slaughter of all but one of the troopers, makes this an entertaining read.

Robert Olmstead (born January 3, 1954) is an award-winning American novelist and educator.

Olmstead was born in 1954 in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He grew up on a farm. After high school, he enrolled at Davidson College with a football scholarship, but left school after three semesters in which he compiled a poor academic record. He later attended Syracuse University, where he studied with RaymonRobert Olmstead (born January 3, 1954) is an award-winning American novelist and educator.

Olmstead was born in 1954 in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He grew up on a farm. After high school, he enrolled at Davidson College with a football scholarship, but left school after three semesters in which he compiled a poor academic record. He later attended Syracuse University, where he studied with Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolff and received both bachelor's and master's degrees, in 1977 and 1983, respectively.

He is currently the Director of Creative Writing at Ohio Wesleyan University. He has also served as the Senior Writer in Residence at Dickinson College and as the director of creative writing at Boise State University. Olmstead teaches in the Low-Residency MFA program in creative writing at Converse College .Olmstead is the author of the novels America by Land, A Trail of Heart's Blood Wherever We Go and Soft Water. He is also the author of a memoir Stay Here With Me, as well as River Dogs, a collection of short stories, and the textbook Elements of the Writing Craft.[2] He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1989 and an NEA Literature Fellowship in 1993.His novel Coal Black Horse (2007) has received national acclaim, including the 2007 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction[7] and the 2008 Ohioana Book Award for Fiction; it was also selected for the "On the Same Page Cincinnati" reading program and the Choose to Read Ohio’s 2011 booklist.Booklist has named his latest novel Far Bright Star (2009) (the second book in the Coal Black Horse trilogy) as one of the Top Ten Westerns of the Decade; the book also received the 2010 Western Writers of America Spur Award. One reviewer praised Olmstead's ability to "translate nature's revelatory beauty into words", commenting that Coal Black Horse evokes what Henry David Thoreau described in Walden as "the indescribable innocence and beneficence of Nature"; by contrast, the Mexican desert of Far Bright Star is "the place of the sun shriveled and the dried up". The Chicago Tribune review praised the authenticity of the imagery and experiences in Olmstead's writing, while also comparing his writing to that of Ernest Hemingway. It noted the influence of contemporary events, such as the guerrila warfare during the U.S. occupation of Fallujah during the Iraq War....more